Energy stocks may be lagging the market, but don’t count them out just yet, according to “Halftime Report” traders. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund gained a whopping 57.6% in 2022, compared with the S & P 500 ‘s 19.4% drop. However, this year the sector is down nearly 3%, versus the 4% gain by the S & P. This year’s dismal performance is owed to the freefall in natural gas prices and the pullback in crude, explained Joe Terranova, chief market strategist at Virtus Investment Partners. XLE YTD mountain Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund YTD performance However, he still advocates an overweight exposure to the energy sector. “[Companies] have told you on multiple occasions, CEOs have the incentive to … focus on the shareholder. They are not incentivized to increase the production. That speaks favorably when you are maintaining dividends and increasing buybacks,” he said on CNBC’s ” Halftime Report .” One name he owns is Occidental Petroleum , which reports earnings after the bell Monday. Terranova is expecting a “record quarter.” Sarat Sethi, portfolio manager at Douglas C. Lane & Associates, is also slightly overweight in energy and sees a potential buying opportunity. “As soon as you see the economy stabilize, energy is going to be the place to be again,” he said. “If the stocks keep pulling back because of ‘weak’ earnings, I think the opportunity to buy the really good ones, like Pioneer [and] EOG , are going to be there.” Meanwhile, Chevy Chase Trust chief investment officer Amy Raskin owns U.K.-based Shell, which was upgraded by Goldman Sachs to buy from neutral on Monday. The firm also hiked its price target, suggesting 40% upside from Friday’s close. “Generally speaking, European energy trades much cheaper to US energy for a variety of historical reasons that I think are no longer relevant,” she said. “We really like this name for the longer term.”